Do I Need to Have My Oregon Living Will Witnessed or Notarized?

In Oregon, you must sign your health care directive in front of two witnesses.

In Oregon, your living will and medical power of attorney are combined into a single form called an advance directive. You can use your advance directive to document your health care wishes and to name a trusted person to make health care decisions for you when you cannot make those decisions for yourself.

Sign Your Oregon Advance Directive in Front of Two Witnesses

After you create your advance directive, you and two witnesses must sign it. You do not need to have the document notarized.

Neither of your witnesses may be:

your health care representative, or

your attending physician.

One witness may not be:

related to you by blood, marriage or adoption

an owner, operator or employee of a health care facility where you are a resident, or

a person entitled to any part of your estate upon your death.

What to Do With Your Signed Advance Directive

After you and your witnesses sign the document, it is legally valid. Keep the original in your files and give a copy to your health care agent, if you named one. To ensure that you get the health care that you want, it’s a good idea to make your wishes widely known. So, you might also consider giving copies of your advance directive to your physician, your hospital, your HMO or other insurance plan, and trusted family members and friends.

Review your document every few years to make sure that it still reflects your wishes. Also, consider making a new document if you move to another state, get married or divorced, or if your agent is no longer able to supervise your wishes.

Your properly finalized document will stay in effect until you revoke it, if you ever choose to do so. You can revoke your document at any time. The best way to revoke your advance directive is to do it in writing. If possible, also collect and tear up all copies that you may have distributed to others. Finally, tell everyone who knows about your advance directive that you have revoked it.

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When you make an advance directive with Quicken WillMaker Plus, it will conform to all of Oregon’s laws about health care directives and it will print with plain English instructions that detail how to make it legal.